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(Props: YouTube.com/fueltv. Skip to 13:38 to see Hunt create the best MMA photo moment of 2013.)

Picture it: Saitama, March 2013. Thirty-eight-year-old slugger Mark Hunt has improbably battled his way to a three-fight win streak in the UFC, and is booked to face Stefan Struve, who stands 14 inches taller than him, and is on an impressive four-fight victory run of his own.

The MMA Gods were angry that night, my friend. By the time that Hunt and Struve stepped into the cage, fans at the Saitama Super Arena had suffered through 24 consecutive rounds without a finish — eight straight decision fights, half of which were so close that the judges didn’t all agree on who had won. It would take a miracle to save this card. Or maybe, just a beefy Samoan who knew how to exploit Struve’s maddening inability to use his range.

(Props: LukeCummo13. You’ve got some competition, Quinn.)

By Matt Saccaro

“Whatever happened to that guy?” is a common question MMA fans ask about retired or forgotten fighters. Usually, the answer is boring and mundane — except when Luke Cummo is involved.

Cummo’s exploits outside the cage have gotten consistently more entertaining as time has gone on. One day he’s getting busted for a DWI, the next day he’s snorting urine. Now, he’s reforming (and hating) the sport of mixed martial arts.

“It’s called MMA but it’s very dangerous. Trust me. I’ve been there. It’s damaging — to children…As a parent, I would never recommend fighting for somebody’s baby,” Cummo said in a recent video on his YouTube channel that you can watch above. “It’s a mindless, stupid industry profiting from the spilled blood of the innocent, honest to god.”

Cummo took issue with MMA gloves and how they don’t protect people from knees and elbows, as well as the inherent violence in MMA.

“You have to put on gloves…but then you’re gonna kick and you’re gonna knee and you’re gonna elbow the other guy — somebody’s baby. There’s no padding on those things…and that’s another living being over there, a precious life. I feel for you as a soldier. I used to be one. You’re not a stupid beast. Nobody is. You’re not a programmable killing machine. You are, still, now and for all time, your parent’s baby to be cherished and nourished, not to kill or be killed. That’s old school, we’re cutting edge over here.”

You know, in a world where even female fighters are valued for their sex appeal as much as their actual abilities, you’d think that an undefeated sexpot like Rin Nakai would be getting a lot more press. The similarities between Nakai and current UFC women’s champion Ronda Rousey are astounding, yet their career trajectories as of late could not be more different. Undefeated bantamweight submission specialists? Check. Willing to fall back on their sex appeal to promote a fight? Check and…uh…check, I guess. Showed up to their last weigh-in wearing bunny-themed lingerie, complete with ears and a thong? Point Nakai.

Sure, Rin’s look appeals to a *very* specific niche, but the woman’s shameless self-promotional skills and morbid sense of sexuality (the term “fearection” comes to mind) is something that should not only be recognized by us lamestream media types, but held in high regard. Let us not forget that we live in a society that has yet to rid itself of the personification of cancer that is Jose Canseco.

Anyway, join us after the jump to check out a video of Nakai rocking an outfit straight out of Final Fantasy or some shit and strangling Brenda Gonzales at Pancrase 247 over the weekend.

Cheick Kongo owns and operates a high-end clothing boutique in Los Angeles called FragoLA. I’ve got nothing clever to say about that right now because that true statement is pretty weird and awesome sounding on it’s own, isn’t it?

Kongo has always gone for a minimalist type of style (think, his vale tudo shorts, necklace and wire-rimmed glasses weigh-in uniform) so I suppose it makes sense that the former UFC heavyweight has chosen to invest in a store selling the latest seasonal offerings from expensive designers. Ok, it doesn’t really make sense but it is a hell of juxtaposition – A bear-voiced 240 pound professional fighter asking little Angelino women if they are finding everything alright – so, check out the video above, if only for the novelty of it all.

Karyn Bryant models some of FragoLA’s finest while interviewing Kongo in the store. I won’t say the interview is bad, I just couldn’t understand much of what was going on. Neither could Bryant.

Kongo shadily refuses to reveal how he keeps prices so low on his men’s and women’s designer duds and, for some reason, talks a lot about how he is black. I’d personally never before noticed that he was.

Kongo’s accent and weird “humor” make for an awkward sit-down. Any tater that gets through all sixteen minutes gets a special place in my heart and a shout-out in my next event live-blog.

So, in conclusion, Cheick Kongo owns and operates a high-end clothing boutique in Los Angeles called FragoLA. Wow.

- Elias Cepeda

(Props: YouTube.com/UFC)

During Thursday’s UFC on FX 8 pre-fight press conference, Vitor Belfort did that thing he loves to do where he held his right fist out to Luke Rockhold‘s chin during their photo-op staredown. Luke was not amused. So, after the two headliners weighed in today at Arena Jaragua in Jaragua do Sul, Santa Catarina, Brazil, Rockhold just walked straight through Belfort’s fist-pose, making body contact with the Brazilian fighter. Belfort shoved Rockhold, and Bootleg Dana had to separate them.

Video of that incident is above, and the full “Belfort vs. Rockhold” weigh-in results are after the jump. Be sure to come back to CagePotato.com tomorrow night at 9 p.m. ET for our liveblog of the main card!

(Stupid Things MMA Fans Used to Believe #26: THIS will be a competitive match up.)

Although he’s getting more press for his TRT usage than he is for his actual octagon performances nowadays, there was a time when Vitor Belfort was just a fresh-faced Brazilian assassin who was quite literally trimming the fat from the UFC’s heavyweight division. That time was 1997, and there was perhaps no greater a display of Vitor’s ability to crush hopelessly outmatched and overweight opponents than his UFC 12 thrashing of Scott Ferrozzo. Thankfully, UFC.com has made the fight temporarily available to the public, presumably so we can gain some perspective on what a true squash match looks like and be happy with the fights we’re given.

As hilarious as it is depressing, join us after the jump as we take a look back at just what constituted a UFC tournament final. You will laugh, you will cry, you will declare that you’re getting too old for this shit.

Tonight, at 9:30pm EST on Fuel TV, a taped sit-down interview with UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva will premiere. As often as we get to see the champ knock heads around inside the cage, we don’t often get longer, in-depth interviews with him, and certainly not in English.

Karyn Bryant‘s interview with Silva tonight looks to be in English and promises to be in-depth — hopefully much more so than the fun stuff shown in the teaser video above. We’re certainly not complaining any time we get to hear Anderson’s high-pitched jokes in English, however.

Silva says, without much explanation, that he’s the “black Dana White,” for one. Silva manages to get his back-handed barbs in, per usual, and it’s a good time.

“Sometimes Dana [is] cranky. ‘Come on man, smile!’” Silva says.

“I have my problems for Dana but I love him.”

Awww.

Anderson has love for his favorite punching bag, Chael Sonnen as well — although he and his family have given up hope that Sonnen will show up to Silva’s house for that barbecue the Spider invited him to.

“No go,” said a disappointed Silva when asked if Chael ever came by to grub up with his clan. “No go. I wait for Chael for long, long time. My wife talk to me, ‘hey, Chael no come?’ [I told her] ‘No baby. Baby, no.’”

See more of Anderson Silva’s sensitive side revealed tonight on Fuel TV.

- Elias Cepeda

(Props: ztube11320 via KickYoNuts)

Yeah, this clip might be four years old, but we’ve never seen it before, and we literally watch everything on the Internet that’s related to MMA — even the crap that’s only related in a vague, tangential sort of way — so it’s probably new to you as well. During a 2009 C3 MMA event in Hammond, Indiana, a pair of sluggers nearly produced the world’s first through-the-ropes double knockout. If only the white guy with the braids had lost consciousness, this would probably be the greatest fight-ending in the history of the sport. I guess you’ll just have to settle for one guy getting KO’d out of the ring. At any rate, it goes great with that first cup of coffee.

Some months ago we saw a short but wonderful video of some loud-mouthed whipper snapper getting slept by a silent, stone-cold killer older gentleman. The video starts off with the loud dude shouting threats to the dapper and calm man standing some twenty feet away.

Then, the obnoxious, threatening guy walks over and gets in the face of the old guy only to promptly be hit and knocked out cold by a one-two combination. Before the idiot did walk over to get his come-uppance, voices from others near by warned him not to “go over there,” and also referred to the old man as “champ.” We wondered if the KO artist was who we thought it was but, being the responsible publication that we are, waited to get some type of confirmation that it was before publishing.

The Daily Mail over in the UK reports that the old-man bad ass int he video is none other than Rocky Lockridge, a former boxing champion who battled the best of the best during the 1980′s and early 90′s, including Julio Cesar Chavez, Roger Mayweather and Rafael Ruelas.

Ok, so Rocky isn’t really that old, but a long career in boxing and battling drug addiction don’t make you young by the time you’re in your 50′s. Besides, he appeared to be much younger than his assailant.

Oh yeah, we forgot to mention that Rocky knocked out that fool (and the drink out of his hand) all while wearing red pants and without his snap brim hat falling from his head. That’s some OG, super hero shiznit if we’ve ever seen it.

Today’s street fighting lesson, taters – If the guy you’re harassing stands at stares at you, without uttering a word and with total calm, and is wearing a fedora and gosh darned solid red pants, don’t down there. Leave that man alone.

- Elias Cepeda

(Props: fueltv)

“Some fighters rise to the occasion, and some fighters are dwarfed by the moment.”

That’s how longtime UFC commentator Joe Rogan puts it in this recent video from FUEL TV, which examines the overwhelming nature of competing in the UFC for the first time, and how those “Octagon jitters” may have negatively affected such hyped-up talents as Daniel Cormier, Hector Lombard, Cung Le, Carlos Condit, and Anthony Pettis. Even if the fight goes well for you, the emotions can be almost too much too bear (see especially: Cat Zingano). It’s an interesting look at the mental challenges that new UFC fighters face, which tend to multiply the more-obvious physical ones. So check it out.